Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
ID: 4679180
Publication Date: August 5, 2010
Day: Thursday
Page: A1
Edition: FIFTH
Section: News
Type: Local
Dateline:
Column:
Length: medium
"I guess we made an error in judgment, and we apologize for that," said
Good, who has had the game for about six weeks. "I voted for the man. It
wasn't meant to be him. If they took it that way, we apologize."
Players paid $1 per shot, or $5 for six shots, to fire foam darts at targets
on his head and heart. Those who hit their mark won a stuffed animal.
Good said the game's design periodically changes and has again been
changed to no longer depict the image of the man. It was designed by one
of his workers, Good said, and he should have realized it would create a
problem. Goodtime Amusements has been in business for 26 years, he
said.
Good said he received one complaint about the game after it first
appeared. He decided to remove it if another person complained, which
happened during the recent Roseto fair, which dates to 1883 and raises
money for the church's school.
The Rev. Jim Prior of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a parish of the Catholic
Diocese of Allentown, was not available for comment, according to a
woman who answered the phone Wednesday at the church. Matt Kerr,
spokesman for the diocese, said Prior would have pulled the game if he'd
known it was there.
But Kathryn Chapman of Medford, Mass., said her family told the church
about the game. She visited the fair July 24 as part of her family's reunion,
which has been held in Roseto for decades to celebrate the family's roots
in the borough, named after Roseto Valfortore of Italy.
She said her brother, Bob, noticed the game the night before and told her
she had to see it. When she visited the next day with her 14-year-old son,
she said, she was flabbergasted.
"I couldn't believe they would have a game where you could shoot any
president, George W. Bush or President Obama, and that there were
targets on his forehead and heart, and that you would win a prize for
shooting the target," Chapman said.
She said she spoke with the operator of the game and later with Good,
both of whom cited "freedom of speech." Good said he told Chapman he
would remove the game. But Chapman said the last thing Good told her
was, "I don't care what you think."
Other members of her family spoke with church members, who said they
were unaware of the game, she said. Chapman said if the game's maker
disagreed with the health care bill, the game should have been shooting
darts at the bill, not the president.
"What are these messages we're sending our kids?" Chapman said. "The
fact that this was held on Catholic church property blows my mind."
Roseto Council President Michael Romano said he didn't see the game at
the fair and did not receive any complaints. But he said the depiction was
"clearly Obama" and was in "poor taste," especially considering the
number of young children at the fair.
"I was sad to hear it was there," Romano said. He added that Goodtime
should guarantee that there will be no other political satire-type games in
the future. The diocese's Kerr said using the company in the future will be
up to the parish.
christopher.baxter@mcall.com
610-778-2283